Trending Now

You are here

Kane losses to Ridgway again in five

The Kane Lady Wolves started out strongly against the Ridgway Elkers and battled through five games but fell short of the win. The Wolves are now 7-7 with two games remaining while Ridgway took its record to 14-1. “We played some serious ball tonight and did a whole lot of aggressive playing," Kane head girls varsity volleyball coach Judy Kessler. "Unfortunately, we had a few lapses and Ridgway has a strong middle who controlled the net a lot when she was in the front. "But I can honestly say that these kids played their hearts out and were really devastated to lose the match. They really wanted to win it and nearly did.”In the first set, the Wolves were down 6-8 when Audrey Perry went back to serve (1 ace). Cassie Whittemore got two kills as the Wolves put up eight points to take the lead. Whittemore’s third kill and solo block, Morgan Nicholson’s first kill of the match, and Katelyn Moran’s two aces put the Wolves up 18-11. Ridgway battled back but Perry put down four kills in a row for points as the Wolves took a 23-18 lead. After Perry made a great dig on a ball, Nicole Shrubb put it away for the final point and the win, 25-18.In the second set the Wolves continued to be aggressive but just weren’t catching their groove as they made attacking and passing errors. They managed nine kills and a couple of service aces but couldn’t keep up with the points Ridgway was scoring. Perry had five kills, Whittemore two, Moran one, and Nicole Sicher one while Moran and Geer had aces.The Wolves were on fire one third of the way through the third set with 17 attacking points at the net to make a great comeback. Whittemore and Nicholson got kills for two of the Wolves' three points but Ridgway put 12 on the board. To battle the huge deficit, the Wolves turned on their offense. Perry, Whittemore, and Shrubb put down two kills each and Moran one en route to a 10-15 game. At 10-19 the Wolves turned it around again. Nikki Sicher (2) and Perry (1) had kills while Nicholson had a block; Geer added two more aces. After a kill out by Ridgway, it was a 19-20 game. A Wolves attacking error made it 19-21. Perry’s quick attack and Sicher’s hit from the outside tide it 21-21. Shrubb’s kill put the Wolves ahead and Perry followed with two well-placed tips as the Wolves got to game point, 24-21. A passing error gave Ridgway point 22 and the serve, but the Wolves converted in as Perry ended the game with a kill. Moran put up 15 assists in just this set.Up two games to one, the Wolves looked to finish the match, but Ridgway wouldn’t give up. The Wolves struggled somewhat and couldn’t get much offense going. Shannon Kocjancic and Sam Ferranto played excellent back row defense. With six kills, one block, and two aces, the Wolves couldn’t do enough to overcome deficits of 12-17, 12-22, and 14-23 before Ridgway ended it 14-25.See full article by purchasing the Oct. 21 edition of The Kane Republican.